High School vs. Club Soccer: Maximize Your Collegiate Opportunities - There comes a time in every player’s soccer career when he or she needs to decide how seriously they want to pursue soccer. At some point, every youth soccer player will be asked the question: do you want to play soccer in college?

Combination Play: Combination play can be defined in very narrow terms, such as wall passing or overlapping; more broadly, as in combinations that are initiated with vertical or horizontal passes; or, very generally, as in any movement or combination involving two or more players that maintains possession or achieves penetration.

Building Your Sports Diet: “What percent of my calories should come from carbohydrates, protein and fat?” my client asked in his efforts to improve his sports diet and his performance. “Should it be 40% carb, 30% protein and 30% fat? Or 65-15-30?” Clearly, he had been reading the popular literature and felt totally confused by the mixed messages.

ASK A REFEREE: The USSF's National Referee Program office receives a multitude of inquiries regarding FIFA's Laws of the Game and numerous questions involving some often confusing rules and calls. Here is a quick sampling of recent topics and the resulting responses...

Some Tips on Being a Top-Notch Parent: Fuel a passion to have fun and enjoy the beauty of soccer. It is a wonderful game that can teach your child how to enjoy life, have discipline, compete at a high level, and work as part of a team. These are all great skills that will benefit your child in life.

Researching Schools 101: Researching schools can be a different process for every student-athlete, but it is important for EVERY student-athlete. Researching schools can get tedious, but you should be researching schools each week, no matter how old you are. The more schools you research, the more you will know what you are looking for in a school.

Ready for Spring: Across the USA youth teams are getting into their spring season. So this is a good time for coaches to refresh themselves on the major points of the prevention and care of injuries. A coach first and foremost must do what he or she can to reduce the likelihood of injury. The factors over which a coach has some control include...

What’s the right ratio of carbs and protein? The good news is carbohydrates are NOT fattening so you have no need to cut back on them as a part of a weight reduction plan. Excess calories are fattening, in particular,excess calories of fat.

Ask A Referee: The USSF's National Referee Program office receives a multitude of inquiries regarding FIFA's Laws of the Game and numerous questions involving some often confusing rules and calls. Here is a quick sampling of recent topics and the resulting responses...

The Car Ride Home: I recently had the opportunity to meet with a group of parents of a U9 boys’ travel team to discuss our club’s mission with respect to facilitating the conditions which focus upon player development over match results. These particular parents had enjoyed a rather successful wins/losses record that leaned in their favor over the past few seasons. The focal point of our club, however, was now upon fostering development of each player...

Soccer Nation Expo 2012 is coming up next weekend on Saturday and Sunday, February 25 and 26 in the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center. Come join thousands of fellow soccer fans at the most exciting soccer festival of the year! This is the biggest family soccer show in the United States. And it's absolutely FREE to the general public!

Are You A Division I Player? Most people want to play soccer at the highest level possible, but Division I soccer is not for everyone. It is extremely time-consuming year round, and you must be incredibly dedicated and disciplined to make it work. A Division I player is not made overnight; Division I athletes have been playing against top competition since they were very young.

Coaching Education at Soccer Nation Expo 2012: If you are looking to learn more about coaching or trying to find some new drills to allow you to put your players through their paces, then Soccer Nation Expo is the place you should be! Cal South's Coaching Education department and many of our partners and sponsors have put together an exciting weekend of highly informative training clinics and classroom sessions geared towards all types of coaches.

Win the Junk Food War the Natural Way: Did you know that only 18 percent of children are eating the recommended three or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day, according to a Produce for Kids study released by the Perishables Group? Forty-three percent of parents say their children eat one or fewer servings daily.

Referee Meetings at Soccer Nation Expo 2012: The Cal South State Referee Committee will be hosting referee meetings throughout the day on Saturday, February 25, 2012 at Soccer Nation Expo. All meetings will be held in Room 308A/B in the Los Angeles Convention Center. Referees attending this symposium will be credited for their in-service yearly training requirements.

Tips from College Coaches: NCSA Athletic recruiting has recently surveyed college coaches to find out additional information about what they look for in recruits. Every coach is different, but many coaches are looking for the same thing in a recruit. Here are some important questions and responses you should be aware of and keep in mind when speaking with coaches...

Tips for Managing Playing Time: One of the most challenging issues facing a coach is the allocation of playing time. As a responsible coach, want not only to win, but also to use sports to teach youth athletes life lessons. And warming the bench will not provide all of the life lessons that sports can teach...

Recovering from Hard Exercise - How to Refuel: What's best to eat for recovery after a hard workout? That's what soccer players, marathoners, and body builders alike repeatedly ask. They read ads for commercial recovery foods that demand a 3 to 1 ratio of carbs to protein, tout the benefits of a proprietary formula...

Ask A Referee: The USSF's National Referee Program office receives a multitude of inquiries regarding FIFA's Laws of the Game and numerous questions involving some often confusing rules and calls. Here is a quick sampling of recent topics and the resulting responses...

How Parents Can Help: Parents of U6 and U8 players play an active part in the enjoyment their children have in youth soccer. Encouragement to try new things is step one. Now that they are out there kicking, running, laughing, falling down and all chasing the ball simultaneously they need positive reinforcement...